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What types of questions are most likely to improve the health of the public? The importance of discovery science.

Congressional eagerness to see research funding translate into improvements in health care may make studies that address “how-to-deliver-care-questions” seem attractive. But the answers to “how–questions” are often so context dependent that the findings are neither generalizable nor durable. The answers to “how–questions” too often become obsolete when the health-care system, the electronic medical record, or the insurance incentives change. Answers to what-questions about effective treatments provide more durable science and are more likely to improve the cardiovascular health of the nation.

To extend our knowledge of the pathobiology of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders and enable clinical investigations that advance the prediction, prevention, preemption, treatment, and cures of human disease.